Game apparatus



Sept. 22, 1936. RADTKE 2,054,866

GAME APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1955 INVENTOR.

Bruno Radilie ///5 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 22, 1936 2 GAME APPARATUS Bruno Radtke, Libertyville, Ill., assignor to The Exhibit Supply Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application April 25, 1935, Serial No. 18,174

.1 Claims. This inventionrelates to a game apparatus. 'It' is an object of this invention to provide an improved game apparatus which is relatively simpleand inexpensive in construction and efviding a ball playing surface and said member ficient in use.'

"j *Anotherobject of the present invention is to provide-a game apparatus comprising the combination of i a cabinet including a member prohaving ball-receiving pockets formed therein; a ramp or runway arranged in saidcabinet at one side of said playi ng'surface for guiding balls onto said playing surfaces; means for propelling balls'one at a ti'me along said ramp or runway so that the same m'ay'enter onto said playing surface; amember slidably mounted in said cabinet below saidplayingsurface for temporarily retaining therein balls which enter into said pockets; a ball-stopping member, having the form 'of a pin, slidably mounted in said cabinet for movementinto and out of position to block the pas sage 'of a ball from said ramp or runway onto said playingsur'face; and a member carried by said ball-retaining member'for moving said pin into effective position when saidball-retaining member is shifted into position to release balls temporarily'held' thereby in said pockets; 7 I

l Other objectswillappear hereinafter.

The invention oonsists in the novel combination andarrangement ofparts to be hereinafter described and clai'med'.* r

The-invention will be best understood by'reference' to-the accompanying drawing, showing the preferred form of construction and in which:

Fig. l isa perspective view of'a game 'apparatus embodying a preferred form of the'present invention; y Fig.2 is avertical; sectional View on line 22 in'Fig'. 1; V

-Fig. -3 is a sectional view online 3--3 in Fig. 2;

and;

g, Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line'4-4 in Fig. 3. A game apparatus embodying a preferred form of the'presentinvention is shown inthe drawing, is therein generally indicated'at I0, and comprises agcabinet-II which includes an inclined playing board I 2 having. ball exit openings or poc t e e n- Slidablym0unted in the cabinet [I below the inclined; -playing board i2 is a ball-retaining member or shuffle board--l4 in which are pro- .vided ballexit openings I5; these-exitopenings Ii bei ng no rmally disposed out of registration with the exit; openings or pockets I3 so that the slidable member I4 will temporarily retain therein balls which enter into. the exit openings or pockets I3.

Carried by, and depending from, the ball-retaining members or slide panel I4 is an arm I6 F (Fig. 2) and the inner end of the coin slide. I1, which is slidablymounted in the cabinet II', is engageablev with this arm I6 so as to move'the slide panel l4 (right to left, Fig. 2), and thereby register the ball exit openings I5 in the slide panel I4 with the exit openings or pockets I3 in the inclined playing board I2 and thus .discharge the held balls 'out of the exitopenings or pockets I3 onto the inclined runway I8 for return toa point adjacent the elevating device I9.

Provided in the cabinet II, at one side of the inclined playing board I2, is a ball runwayor ramp 20 (Fig. 3) and slidably mounted forverti cal movement in the inclined playing board I2 is a ball-stopping member, having the formlof a pin 2|, the upper end portion 22 of .Whlch; is

which has a substantially horizontally extending end portion or arm '25 and an inclined cam portion 24 that projects under, and bears against, the lower end portion of the ball stop orpin 2 I .i

-- Operation g When the slide panel l4 in its normaljo r initial position, the exit openings I5 therein are disposed out of registration with the exit openings or pockets I 3 in the inclined playing board I2 and balls are thus temporarily held inthe exit openings or pockets I3 by the slide panel I4.

When the slide panel I4 is in this position the pin 2I--22 is disposed in lowered position (Fig. 3), as in dotted lines (Fig. 4) and in this position of the parts the lower end of the pin 2| bears upon the horizontal extension 25 of the cam plate 23-44-25, and the upper end portion 22 of the pin'2l is thus withdrawn out of the ramp or runway 20' so that balls 26 may be projected up the ramp 20;'past the pin 2|, onto the playing surface I 2. d v However, when the sliding panel I4 is shifted (right to left, Fig. 2) to register 'the exit openings I5 therein with the exit openings or pockets I3 in the inclined playing board I2, the inclined camportion 24 of the cam plate 2324--25 bears' movable into andout of efiective position in the is impossible to propel balls from the ramp 20 onto the inclined playing surface l2, since any ball propelled up the ramp 2!! will engage the ball stopping pin 2l22 and will be prevented thereby from entering onto the playing surface l2; thereby preventing the player from fraudulently playing balls up onto the inclined playing board 12 of the apparatus by operating the plunger 26 whileholding the sliding panell4 and coin slide -11 pressed inwardly.

When the coin slide l1 and slide panel M are released for return to their initial positions, the

lower end portion of the ball stop orpin 2] rides down the inclined cam surface 24 of the cam gravity, and thus retract its upper. end portion 22' out of the ball runway or ramp 20 so that balls may again be propelled up the rampifl onto the playing surface [2.

If a ball is propelled up the ramp or runway when the ball stop or pin 2 l22.is in .raised position, there is a tendency for the momentum of the ball .to cause it to jump over the pin 2I-.22 and either continue on through the ramp 20 or to jump over .onto the playing surface of the inclined playing board I2. To prevent this .a strip L2! is extended across the ramp or. runway 20 (Figs. 1 and 3) above the ball stop or pin 2| and 22 and in the event a balliis deflected upwardly by engagement with the pin Zeb-22 it will strike the strip 21 and be prevented by the latter from being deflected out of the, ramp or runwayZB onto the playing surface of the inclined playing board [2; it being noted that the strip 21 is so spaced above the pin 21-22 that a ball cannot pass between the strip 21 and the pin 2l22 when the latter is in raised or effective position.

.While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my in.- vention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without'departing from the spirit. of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precise details of constructionset forth, but desire toavail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim': I

1. A game apparatus, comprising the combination of: a cabinet including a member providing aball playing surface and said member having ballreceiving pockets formedtherei-n; a ramp or runway arranged in said cabinet atoneside of said playing surface for guiding balls onto said playing surface; means for propelling balls one at a time along said :ram-p or runway onto said playing surface so that the same may enter into said pockets; a member slidably mounted in said cabinet below said playing surfacefor temporarilyretaining therein balls which enter into said pockets; a member slidably mounted in said cabinet for movement into and out of position to block the passage ofa ball from said ramp or runway onto said playing surface; and a member carried by said second-named and ballretaining member for moving said third-named and ball-stopping member into; effective position when said' secondnamed and ball-retaining member is shifted into position to release balls temporarily held thereby in said pockets; 7

2. Agame apparatus, comprising the combination of a cabinet including a member providing a ball playing surface and said member having ball-receiving pockets therein; a ramp or ball runway arranged in said cabinet at one side of said playing: surface forguiding balls onto said playing into effective position to prevent the passage of balls from said ramp or runway onto said playing surface when the said second-named and ballretaining memberis moved into ball-releasing position. a

3, A game apparatus, comprising the combination=of1 .a cabinet including a member providing a ball playing surface and said member having ballreceiving pockets formed therein; a ramp or runway arranged in said cabinetat one side ofsaid playing surface forguiding balls onto said playing surface; meansfor propelling balls one .at a time along said ramp orrunway onto said playing surface so that the same may enter into said pockets; a member slidably mounted in said cabinet below said playing surface fortemporarily retaining therein balls which enter into said pockets; amember slidably mounted in said firstnamed member for movement into and out of position to block the passage of a ball from said ramp or runway onto said playing surface; and means coa'cting withsaid second-namedand ballretaining member for movingv said thirdnamed member into effective; position to block the p55- sage of balls from said ramp or runway onto said playing surface when said second-named and ball-retaining member is shifted into position to release balls temporarily held thereby in said pockets. H 7 V V 4. A game apparatus, comprising the combination of: a cabinet including a member providing a ball playing surface and said member having ball.- receiving pockets formed therein; arramp or ball runway arranged in said cabinet: at one side of said playing surface for guiding balls 'onto said playing surface; means for propelling balls one at a time along said ramp or runway so that-the same-may enter onto said playing surface; a member slidably mounted in said cabinet below said playing surface for temporarily retaining-therein balls which enter into said pockets; a member slidably mounted in said cabinet for. movement into and out of position to block the passage of a ball from said ramp or runway onto said playing surface; and means coacting with said ball-retaining member for moving said third-named member into effective position to block' the passage of balls from said ramp or runway onto said playing surface when said second-named and ballretaining member is shifted into position to release balls temporarily held thereby in' said pockets. 7

5. A game'apparatus, comprising the combination of a cabinet including a member providing a ball playing surface and said member having ballreceivingpockets formed therein; a; ramp or ball runway arranged in said cabinet at one side of said playing surfacefor guidin'g'ballsonto said playing surface; means for propelling balls one at a time along said ramp or runway so'that th'e same may enter onto said playing surface; a member slidably mounted below said playing" surface for temporarily retaining therein balls which entr into said pockets; a'member slidably mounted in said first-named member for movement into and out of position to block the passage of a ball from said ramp or runway ontosaid playing surface; means coacting with said second-named and ball-retaining member for moving said thirdnamed member into efiective position to block the passage of balls from said ramp or runway onto said playing surface when said second-named and ball-retaining member is shifted into position to release balls temporarily held thereby in said pockets; and a member extended across said ramp or runway above said third-named member and adapted to prevent a ball from jumping over said 5 third-named member or from being deflected thereby out of said ramp or runway.

BRUNO RADTKE 

